Maya: An Avenger's Story
by NoirYorkCity2k4
Summary: A Fanfic Noir of revenge from a fugitive's point of view.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters of the Cowboy Bebop series (Spike, Jet, Faye, Eddie). They all belong to the Kadokawa-Shoten company and proper affiliates.  
  
Maya: An Avenger's Story  
  
Prologue  
  
My name is Michael Yoshida. I used to have a family, but now I'm alone. As I sit here in this spotlight, tied up to a chair and awaiting an interrogation, I stare at the one-way mirror that is reflecting my visage: a sour looking middle-aged man with nothing but sorrow. Funny thing I'm noticing at a time like this, but I'm sprouting a few other grey hairs in my slick black hair. To think I got my inspiration for my hair from classic mafia movies, then I copied the idea thinking I was a mobster when I was 10 years old. It got to the point of being a habit like the piles of bodies I left in my wake. I sit here in this accursed chair, strapped as though blood won't circulate, staring at my bruised and bloodied face, to the same sad eyes that anyone would have if they held their dead 13 year old daughter in their arms.  
They say history repeats itself." My wife died after my daughter, Maya, was born. I was about 27 then. One year later, working as a detective on Pluto's moon, Charon, I was helping an agency that was trying to track a sleeper for drug traffickers that had enough heroin to give Charon a new lake. In the case, I found evidence that my wife had been the sleeper. As I visualize the bullet hole on my chest, I am reminded on how ambitious my wife was...then I remember putting a bullet in her head as I spun around from what was then a newly acquired scar. While I stared at my wife's dead body in my arms, the drug baron, who called himself Shinji Dracul, and his boys ambushed me in my old home, where the showdown between me and my wife took place. I barely escaped alive with my infant daughter in my arms.  
The agency that I cooperated with had captured and arrested Dracul while I lay down on a hospital bed, recovering from blood loss and a few other bullet holes in my right shoulder and my left leg. My daughter wasn't injured, but I had a feeling she knew of her mother's fate. Kids have a way of knowing these things without having to express them like we do. Thirteen years later, I was finally planning on retirement so I could be closer to Maya and get away from the violence for a while. As I was coming home from a quiet day, I saw a group of suspicious people in front of my house dragging something away.  
"This is Detective Yoshida," I calmly spoke to radio dispatch. "I saw some suspicious people in front of my house. I need someone to look around in the house while I tail the suspects."  
"Roger that," dispatch responded. "We'll send a few units to your home. We'll notify the chief that you're still active as well."  
I followed the rustic looking Palomino duplicate to disposal area near the local spaceport, about 45 minutes away. After the last suspect went into the cheap tin office building that nested behind a chain-link fence and barbwire, I parked the car in a hidden area. I readied my .45 berretta as I had snuck around the fenced area to a cliff that was sitting just above where the barbed perimeter line was. As I successfully dropped in unnoticed, I reached the back door of the office when some thug pointed a Colt Anaconda at me.  
"Where the hell do you think YOU'RE going, sucka?" the thug demanded with an uneducated tongue.  
My pistol in the right hand, I shifted my body to a left angle and slapped the Colt in another direction, causing the fired shot to miss, and then I put a few slugs in his guts. The panicked attack not only blew my cover, but I was able to take his gun and a few extra rounds of ammo.  
There had to have been five other guys within the entire area, then what looked like a team leader had stayed behind inside the office building, rewrapping a foreboding object in carpet. I shot all five people and continued in pursuit of the team leader like a wolf in hunt. I caught up to him as he entered the runway where the ships were getting ready to take off into the cold space. To make him stop, I shot his knees and watched him drop the carpet like a sack of potatoes. His wails were a cowardly song of cries.  
"What's in the carpet?" I demanded, as I took his collar with one hand and the berretta in the other, pointed in his face. "What did you take from my house?"  
"SCREW YOU!!" he cried as the weasel attempted to pull his gun out. I stopped him part way by putting a bullet in his face like an inevitable execution.  
As his body lay there a bloody mess, I examined what was in the carpet. The moment I had unveiled the fabric woven with curses, I knew I just dug my grave. What I saw was the one reason I knew I was dead inside. I saw my daughter lying lifeless in the carpet.  
As I stared in horror and anguish, a flood of memories, theories of her execution, the very end of my existence forced its way into my soul. My daughter was killed for Christ's sake! My reason to live! My voice of reason! The one good part of my dead wife and me was now dead! DEAD!!  
Her lovely green eyes stared with many accusations and blame into the sky. Her hair flowed freely with a whispering wind. Her mouth had gaped open as though she continued to scream in pain beyond her death. Her chest and abdomen were pockmarked with enough bullet holes to make blood flow like Niagara Falls. Her heart stopped as mine did. Someone killed MY child! I wanted to know WHO killed her, WHY they did it, and a reason not to kill the bastard (or bastards) for this travesty!  
All I could do was hold Maya's body in my arms and cry. I bayed like a wild animal injured beyond hope. There were engines bellowing out screams as they ran for the skies and space. But even those could never drown my cries of mourning. Not even the cops standing behind me with judgmental firearms could take my attention away from my daughter. I was accused of going off and killing my daughter. They promptly arrested me and took me downtown.  
I silently went through grill sessions in the interrogation room, processing, and someone was about to carry out sentence. Many would consider all this a lot of hell. I was already in Hell when I saw my daughter's body in the carpet.  
This is the beginning of my story. 


	2. Personal Prison

Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters of the Cowboy Bebop series (Spike, Jet, Faye, Eddie). They all belong to the Kadokawa-Shoten Company and proper affiliates.  
  
Maya: An Avenger's Story  
  
Chapter 1: Personal Prison  
  
It wasn't even three days after Maya's death when the jury convicted me of a murder I didn't commit. As stupid as it sounds, they think I was the one who killed her, then killed my so-called "co-conspirators" in an attempt to cover my tracks. Question remains, though: Why kill my own daughter? Everyone in town knew I loved her with all my life, heart, and soul. Even forensics found that the slugs didn't match my gun to Maya's wounds. Regardless of the evidence presented, I was sentenced to die in a far away prison several galaxies away. Specifically, Pt. 5542 Sector 16, which was about 40-something light years away from Charon.  
I arrived at the desert-like planet with winter clothes on, which led to an obvious conclusion that the torture was intended. After I was officially documented as a prisoner, everything looked as bleak as the desert surrounding the prison. No oasis, hardly any water, very little hope, and no reason to live. This place was meant to be a prison. As if my personal prison wasn't enough to keep me awake at night, I had a new sensation regarding the prisoners that seem to keep following me; paranoia.  
As I approached my cell to retire for the fifth night, I noticed about 3 huge looking prisoners obstructing my chamber door like a brick wall: a blonde Caucasian, a short and stocky black man, and the biggest one with no hair. It was a good thing I fashioned a makeshift knife to conceal in my garb's long sleeves.  
"Ready to get some shut-eye, Yoshida?" the muscular blonde hissed. He looked a little love-starved. "You really are starting to look like Sleeping Beauty."  
"The next time I want a compliment, give me a Valentine's Day card," I retorted, trying to keep my cool. "Don't take that as an offer. I was being sarcastic."  
"He's definitely got some spunk," jeered the rougher looking body builder. "He might be useful for something after all."  
"I don't have time for this," I spoke, trying to avoid them. "Get out of my way."  
"Hold it," the blonde commanded. "We're making a proposition."  
"Then get the guy who likes cross-dressing," I snapped, getting ready for a fight.  
"We're not talking about that," the short one spoke up. "We're talking about an attempt to escape."  
"What does it matter to you guys for me to escape?" I asked.  
"You think we didn't see the trial?" the short guy asked in return. "First of all, name's Shorty, for obvious reasons. Second, that was rhetorical question I asked you, if you were thinking of more smart-ass answers. Third, we know for a fact you were set up."  
"Guess I should start warming up to you guys, since I now know I'm not the only one who thinks I was framed," I coldly spoke.  
"No need to go there, Yoshida! I was framed too! Don't you even recognize me?"  
"Should I?"  
"YEAH! You tried to prove that Kara Kino's gang of thieves wasn't involved with that jewelry robbery! You tried to prove my sister and me innocent!"  
Suddenly it dawned on me. A case I failed to break because of some bounty hunters getting involved. They worked on a spaceship called the Cowboy Bebop. They got a little TOO destructive and destroyed half the evidence I needed to piece together what I needed to prove Shorty and Kara's innocence. Kara was killed shortly after sentencing. Female prisoners took her life without hesitation. Smelled like a set up, but I couldn't prove it.  
"You were the only cop who cared, man. In return for your kindness, I'll help you avenge your daughter. Are you with me?"  
I had to think about this a second. I know I have nothing to live for, but I have nothing to fight back with. How would we escape a desert planet? What if this was another set up? I'll have to play along until I get answers.  
"What do you have in mind?" I asked.  
"It's simple," Shorty began. "This barren planet can't so much as support much plant life, right? All the plants that allot us to breathe are considered inedible. So, this place has a regularly scheduled convoy that delivers food. I gather, usually about 5PM."  
"The time lockdown usually starts. I see what you're saying."  
"Yeah, and then I plan to try and escape about an hour and a half before its arrival."  
"Wouldn't the guards be a little suspicious about our disappearance?"  
"Yes! And then my two boys here will raid the armory at the belly of the prison! Since we're considered 'high profile criminals,' most (if not all) of the guards will look for us. Open opportunity here!"  
"That sounds pretty good. TOO good, if you ask me."  
"Look, I know you have a hard time trusting anyone..."  
"You don't know the half of it!"  
"Think about this, then: Your scheduled execution has been changed to about three days from now! If you don't believe me, you can sneak into the office by scaling the walls. You'd have to avoid the spotlights, but it's very possible to get in."  
And so they left. I always knew if something was always too good to be true, it probably was. Then again, this information about my execution kind of struck a curious suspicion. I couldn't sleep after hearing that, so I decided that since I have nothing to lose, I'll take a small peek in the office.  
Getting to the outside area was a little tricky with all the guards inside. I was wondering how I'd get past them without being spotted. Luckily, there aren't dogs on this planet as it opens opportunity to get a disguise. I couldn't get a guard's uniform due to the special computers implanted in one of the buttons that respond to DNA. Bodies differentiate with different electric fields based on the deoxyribonucleic acids. If I climbed into a guard's uniform, I'd set off every alarm in the penitentiary. I crept out of the cell, not knowing ahead of time what to do. I figured I'd play it as I go along and look for whatever caught my eye. Through wandering around within shadows, dodging the flashlights from the guards, I bumped into something big, hollow, and felt like cardboard. The sound alerted the guards' attention. I had to think real fast, or I'd end up like Swiss cheese before I could find the answers I needed to know...answers to questions concerning Maya's death.  
I quickly deduced the object I bumped into was an empty cardboard box. I needed something fast, so I placed the box over me. It wasn't tight at all, but I felt like something out of a cartoon.  
"Did you hear something?" one of the two guards asked as they looked into the area.  
"I did," the second guy responded. They flashed their flashlights around where I was. I could see from one of the hand holes on the side of the box. "It was probably a rat." And the two left. I was safe for now.  
I crept around the sides of the complex with my Halloween costume unnoticed. These guards must be really stupid. I reached the door that led outside. After I ditched the box, I opened the door carefully and went outside for a stroll.  
So far, Shorty was right about the outside. There were only a few spotlights active towards the inside of the complex, while most of them were pointed outside. Luckily, for every spotlight I had seen, there was either a big rock or a trashcan I could hide behind, without being noticed. It didn't take long for me to find the window to the office. Before the actual office, there was a locker room where the guards bathe and change their clothes. I slipped in and noticed that most of the guards were bathing, bringing about a heavy steam to cloud even my eyes. I manage to exit the locker room and found my way into the office.  
To my left of the locker room entrance, there was a janitor's locker. The label on it read, "Shorty." That definitely explains how Shorty got his information. Some of the people were just exiting their shower. Before the guards could take off the towels from their eyes, I quietly hid myself in Shorty's locker. I had to wait a moment for all 10-ten people to leave, but I wasn't seen, nor were there alerts that I had left my cell. That's thanks to an old-fashioned prop: pillows. As soon as the last guy left, I quietly left the locker. I looked into a nearby file cabinet for my file. And there it was...a reason to trust Shorty's word.  
The file had some white-out on it where my scheduled execution was. It read the date three days from now. I felt pretty bad for doubting Shorty's word, but tomorrow should be an opportune time for me to get out of here. It's going to be a lot of work to get to the bottom of my personal case, but I WILL find my daughter's killer!  
"Enjoying the light reading?" asked a voice from out of nowhere. I looked in panic to the direction of the voice. It was Shorty. The bastard nearly made me scream. "Now do you believe me?"  
"Amazing how the guards trust you to get this info," I responded. "I'm not being sarcastic about that either. I don't know how you pulled it off, but they trust you."  
"Look, it won't take long for the guards to find out who's been through the cabinet. I'll hide you in this trash bin full of cleaning supplies and escort you back to the cell."  
"And then you say, 'If you trust me, that is?'"  
"I KNOW you trust me. Better get in before you get caught."  
I jumped in there immediately after putting the file away. Looks like I have a trusted ally on my side, for once. Every cop I worked with turned their backs away when I was testifying my innocence. As we approached my cell, Shorty was able to sneak me out of the drum by acting a little clumsy, pushing me out and allowing me to roll and crawl back into bed. Though I tried to sleep, all I could really do was put up an act, and trust in Shorty's plans. 


	3. Things You Get Used To

Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters of the Cowboy Bebop series (Spike, Jet, Faye, Eddie). They all belong to the Kadokawa-Shoten Company and proper affiliates.  
  
Maya: An Avenger's Story  
  
Chapter 2: Things You Get Used To  
  
I watch the sunrise as I lay in my false bravado of sound sleep. It was bright and stings the eyes. So much for the romantic imagery of nature's beauty. No wonder many of the romantic writers I know of were blind in their latter years. I pretend to wake up to the call of the guards to start the day. Two guards look at me with suspicious eyes, like I did something wrong as I approached my now open cell.  
"Can I help you, boys?" I asked one of the guards.  
"Where were you last night?" the guard on the right asked.  
"In bed," I answered bluntly. "Did you happen to fall in love?"  
"Cut the crap, Yoshida! Someone was in the office last night. Apparently, your file was misplaced and the head honcho is pretty pissed off!"  
"My condolences, but last I checked, Yuji Makino's educational level was in the 8th grade before he dropped out."  
"You just watch your back, Yoshida!" the guard on the left warned. "If we find out you were in the office last night, I WILL shoot you myself!"  
"And what's going to change my answer?" I asked him sharply. "Fear of death?" They left empty handed with no answers to their investigation. I continued on my way to breakfast.  
I found myself an empty table in the cafeteria area. Just the way I wanted it for the time being; alone and working out a plan. Three other people joined me on the table. It was Shorty and his two cohorts. I couldn't quite eat after they took their seats. It wasn't because they had some ugly mugs, but rather I was now about to be briefed.  
"Sleep well last night?" Shorty asked me.  
"You should know me better than that," I answered with the exclusion of sarcasm. "I don't get much sleep these days."  
"Then I'll get to the point. Are you in or out?"  
"I'm in. If your boys can get me a few guns, I can definitely travel."  
"Glad to hear it. Meet me at your cell at 1530 hours. We'll get the plans ready and execute it immediately."  
After that, I took a bite of the sausage and eggs with the gruel on my plate. I immediately spat it back out.  
"That's gross!" Shorty exclaimed. "What did you do THAT for??"  
"It tasted like bitter almonds," I replied. I left and threw the food away. Someone tried to poison me with cyanide. I had a pretty good idea who after noticing the guards at the door were turning around and reporting me spitting out my food. There was a backstabber within the law and didn't want me on the loose trying to find answers.  
3:50PM was approaching fast. I raced to my cell to make it in fast enough so I wouldn't be left behind. The place was empty, making things perfect to discuss a plan. Of course, I was also fully aware that an empty place also means the suspicion of a setup. It wouldn't surprise me though; just one of those things you get used to. Shorty went over the plans and the map he stole from the office. The map itself was fully detailed and even showed places where all the ventilation ducts lead. The two musclemen would raid the armory as Shorty and I would make the escape ready for the four of us. Everything would fall in place like magic. By the time the guards noticed the escape with a few bullets short, we'd be long gone.  
4:30PM, the plan was set in motion. Shorty and I ran for the mess hall, dodging security cameras and glances from the guards. At this point, stealth was as good a friend as Shorty. If any of the guards caught us, the game's over. From hallway to laundry baskets, we hid in every possible corner to evade the guards. As we approached the mess hall, Shorty and I quietly lifted a table into one of the overhead vent shafts. We quickly used the chairs as step ladders and started crawling through the vent system, with Shorty as point man. The dizzying twists and turns along with the heat were almost enough to make me puke, but it was worth it when we reached the landing pad where all the food supplies are delivered.  
Shorty carefully lifts the cover and moves it aside to make an exit out of the vent. Lucky for us, we both landed behind some boxes, which provided enough cover to time our next move: getting into the cargo ship. We needed something to put out someone's lights. I happened to spot a lead pipe with a connector in the center on the ground. Taking it apart, Shorty and I had blunt weapons we could use to knock out the losers in the spaceship. We slipped past the guards and knocked out the workers and the captain of the cargo ship. The ship was ours! All that was left was to wait for Shorty's cohorts with the ammo.  
The two musclemen had arrived after snapping the three guards' necks. Funny thing was that it wasn't part of the plan. No one was supposed to die. The cohorts hid the bodies behind some crates and approached into the ship with enough ammo to start a full-blown riot in the prison. The two approached like the feeling of impending doom. Shorty was nothing short of pissed and was about to start scolding them like children.  
"What the hell were you two thinking?!" Shorty started. "The plan didn't call for killing the guards!"  
"This ship isn't going anywhere," the blonde stated. "You two will be executed today, as now ordered by Yuji Makino."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shorty asked in disbelief.  
"Meaning there was reason cyanide was in my breakfast," I declared in realization. "And the rather empty jail sector while we spoke of our plans of escape. Yuji must've bought the two out."  
"That's right," Blondie confirmed. "We were hired to monitor you two since you happened to have a connection with each other. Yuji may not be the brightest, but he knew you probably would try something. I'm telling you right now, you really don't want to know the reason your daughter died. You're better off in the grave like your worthless wife!" Abruptly after, Shorty rushed Blondie and his cohort, swinging the lead pipe he used to knock out the workers and captain. He managed to jab the pipe into the bald guy, ending his existence on this mortal coil. The blonde got back up and shot Shorty in the back while he tried to pick up the gun. Shorty had purposely taken the pistol and threw it behind him in hopes of me intercepting it. I didn't disappoint him.  
I dove for the gun that sailed in midair. I had a grasp of the gun and immediately pulled the trigger in Blondie's direction. The bullet sealed his fate by puncturing his sternum and blowing a hole into what one might suggest is the heart. The shock on him was so tremendous that all the guns he had fell out of his hands like the inevitable surrender to Death's visit on his doorstep. I approach him after getting back up from the ground. Blondie was scared.  
"You'll...pay for this...!" Blondie gasped.  
"Be grateful," I coldly stated. "You'll die a quick death." I put him out of his misery with bullets shot into his head. After that, I just rolled the body out of the ship with the bald guy with him. I check on Shorty, even though I knew what was going to happen.  
"I...I'm sorry," Shorty breathed. "I...I seriously...didn't..."  
"Not your fault," I interrupted. I knew he had good intents for me. He just trusted the wrong people. His left hand reached out weakly to hold my hand. I take hold of his hand.  
"Don't...let...me hold...you back.... You...must escape... I'm scared...but I know...I'll soon...be...free...." Shorty's left hand fell over a limp. He was dead. I wasn't about to let his body fall into that prison.  
The guards were fast approaching the ship. I shut all doors and prepared for take-off. I also made sure all boosters were ready to fire. As the guards prepared to open fire with the heavy artillery, I let loose with the afterburners and started my own barbecue party. As the body count rose up, I had as well into space.  
It was a long chase in the field of stars, but I managed to avoid my pursuers by luck. A wormhole appeared which allowed access to another galaxy. I had a moment to breathe and find cover until I could formulate a plan for revenge and retribution. But before I could start that, I had another matter: Shorty.  
The cargo ship had several escape pods for the crew and workers. I took Shorty's body and neatly placed it into a pod, then released it. He didn't deserve to be buried in that desert. He deserved much more than that, something more honorable. Though the sadness carries a heavy weight in my heart, I couldn't bring myself to cry anymore. For me, that thing about the people I care about dying on me was just another one of those things you get used to after a while. 


End file.
